Fare help for a friend please - this is outside my geographical area....

[whole diary]

[Mookiemoo]

About to do a lands end to john o groats bike ride (lord knows why) and need to get from ludlow to penzance - one way.

Cut from the same cloth as me so prefers to go first class on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) or cross country if possible.  Can't do advance as has to collect fellow idiots en route and too much risk having to get off trains to round them up etc etc

So - can one save on the rather extortionate anytime fare by splitting tickets - or is there any cheaper way to do it

[devon_metro]

^89.10 YP First Day Single is the only option without splitting.

And splitting at Bristol doesn't look any cheaper. I'd say its quiet a reasonable FC^▸ (First Class, or Fat Controller, or Football Club, depending on context) fare.

[moonrakerz]

^89.10 YP First Day Single is the only option without splitting.

How did you get that ?

[devon_metro]

[Brucey]

Assuming you are using a Y-P railcard...

FDS (Any Permitted): LUD to EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) ^50.55
FDS (XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) Only): EXD to PNZ ^33.00
Total: ^83.55

Assuming you are travelling with ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former Train Operating Company)) to Newport, there isn't any 1st class there (AFAIK^▸ ('as far as I know')) so a standard class for this leg might be cheaper:

SDS (Any Permitted): LUD to NWP ^11.60
FDS (Any Permitted): NWP to EXD ^35.20
FDS (XC Only): EXD to PNZ ^33.00
Total: ^79.80

[Mookiemoo]

Sadly - friend in question doesnt have a RC - but I can add the 1/3 onto it!

[Mookiemoo]

Thanks all!

I'm just glad its him not me!

[moonrakerz]

devon_metro:

Ta ! found it myself, finger trouble !

[inspector_blakey]

Those "AP Bridgwater" fares look like a bit of an oddity...what permitted route are they keeping you off by forcing the journey through Bridgwater? And more to the point, why on earth would you actually want to make the journey without passing through Bridgwater (no rude jokes about Bridgwater please!)? Must be a fairly large detour.

[Deltic]

As I was informed in response to a post on another thread, Bristol to Taunton is valid via Westbury.

[Brucey]

Those "AP Bridgwater" fares look like a bit of an oddity...what permitted route are they keeping you off by forcing the journey through Bridgwater? And more to the point, why on earth would you actually want to make the journey without passing through Bridgwater (no rude jokes about Bridgwater please!)? Must be a fairly large detour.

Just checked the Routeing Guide and there don't appear to be any permitted routes that don't pass through Bridgewater (although I stand to be corrected).  I think it is just a thing they do on AP tickets, i.e. they have to include either a routeing point or an operator's name.

[vacman]

Those "AP Bridgwater" fares look like a bit of an oddity...what permitted route are they keeping you off by forcing the journey through Bridgwater? And more to the point, why on earth would you actually want to make the journey without passing through Bridgwater (no rude jokes about Bridgwater please!)? Must be a fairly large detour.

"AP" stands for Advance purchase, so that route would only appear on AP tickets.

[JayMac]

Further split the EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains)-PNZ FDS at PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains) for more savings.

[Mookiemoo]

Thanks all - I have the advantix thingy on my windows virtual machine but I'm clearly not intelligent enough to work out how to use it!

[Brucey]

Thanks all - I have the advantix thingy on my windows virtual machine but I'm clearly not intelligent enough to work out how to use it!

My method for working out splits is this:
1. Find an old envelope or scrap of paper which is reasonably large
2. Calculate the direct fare
3. List all major intermediate stations on your journey
4. Start by choosing one of these stations and calculate fares either side
5. If cheaper, now choose another station from either side and split further (remember to write down all the fares you find, to save looking them up again)
6. If it isn't cheaper, keep trying intermediate stations until something crops up that appears cheaper.
7. Golden rule: check the restrictions on the tickets to make sure they are actually valid on the services you wish to use

Remember also that sometimes it can be cheaper to buy a ticket for further than you wish to travel, provided a break of journey is permitted on that ticket (e.g. the SVR ticket on Bristol TM^▸ (Train Manager, or Ticket Machine, or Temple Meads (Bristol), depending on context) to Cosham, where Bristol TM - Havant is cheaper).